The True Herod by Geza Vermes (nonfiction 2014)

This book is spare and concise, convincing those of us who don't know Herod from anything but the Bible that he wasn't a babykiller.  Herod the Great definitely had his psychotic moments, but it turns out he was an amazing builder, a great politician.  The book does well in giving a useful context to what we're studying, such as a short account of how the king and his heirs dealt with each emperor.